14 Sep 2008 - Participants
at the Lower Danube People’s Summit, which
took place September 9-10, 2008 in Mehedinti
County at the Iron Gates
area in Romania, discussed practical implementation
of the Lower Danube Green Corridor, including
marketing for products and services connected
with the area.
The 140 participants
of the meeting included farmers and fishermen,
tourism entrepreneurs, local, regional and
national authorities as well as NGOs from
across the Lower Danube areas of Romania,
Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine as well as
beyond.
Among the conclusions
of the meeting was the commitment to further
explore opportunities for marketing, including
branding, related to the Lower Danube and
its unique natural qualities, both for products
and tourism services.
"We are under increasing
pressure from foreign competition,"
said Saitoc Dumitru of the Lacta dairy company
in Giurgiu, which draws its dairy products
from cattle that graze in Danube protected
areas. "We need to improve our position
on the market by promoting the quality and
freshness of our products and their connection
to the natural qualities of the Lower Danube."
Participants had the
chance to share their experience with developing
and selling products and services related
to the Lower Danube and its natural features.
Many of the participants noted difficulties
in attracting and keeping skilled and dependable
labor and in tapping EU funding sources,
which include funds earmarked for supporting
nature-friendly products and services.
The conference included
a colourful fair that featured 70 products
from across the Lower Danube region, from
honey and cheese to ham, fish, bread and
brandies. The products were not only tasty,
but also linked to the natural qualities
of the Lower Danube Green Corridor.
The Lower Danube Green
Corridor Agreement signed by the governments
of Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine
in 2000 commits the partners to realising
Europe’s largest and most ambitious wetland
protection and restoration initiative, including
protection of 1 million ha and restoration
of 240,000 hectares of wetland areas along
the last 1,000 km of the Danube.
The Second People’s
Summit for the Lower Danube was organised
by the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme with
generous support from the BBI-Matra fund
administered by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture,
Nature Management and Food Quality. A similar
event was organised by WWF in 2006 in Rousse
in Bulgaria.
See related article
on Lower Danube fair that was held as part
of the Second People’s Summit.
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14 Sep 2008 - 70 tasty
products, from dairy products to honey,
bread and brandies, featured at the Lower
Danube fair that was organised September
10 by WWF in Eselnita near the Iron Gates
Nature Park in Romania. The products came
from and were connected to the Lower Danube
Green Corridor, the most ambitious wetland
protection and restoration initiative in
Europe.
“All of the products
featured here are connected to the Lower
Danube’s exceptional natural qualities –
their success on the market is ultimately
important to the long-term success of the
Lower Danube Green Corridor,” said Dr Orieta
Hulea, who leads WWF’s work on the Danube.
Plamen Kalinov came
with various organic-certified products,
including wine, juice, honey and jams made
from Aronia, that he produces in the area
of Roussensky Lom in Bulgaria.
Viorica Radulescu brought
some of the fish from his fish farm, which
is part of the EU's Natura 2000 network
of specially protected sites. WWF has been
working with Radulescu and other fish farmers
from the region to prevent as well as compensate
losses to cormorants, black storks and other
rare bird species with a strong appetite
for their fish.
A number of the participants
came in traditional dress, including Nicolae
Ghebaura, a local from Eselnita in Mehedinti
county in Romania, who sliced his tender
pork in white dress with colourful sash.
The fair was part of
the Second “People’s Summit” for the Lower
Danube, a conference focused on practical
implementation of the Lower Danube Green
Corridor Agreement and related local development,
particularly related to promoting sustainable
agriculture, fisheries and tourism. The
140 participants included farmers and fishermen,
local, regional and national authorities,
local and international organisations as
well as tourism entrepreneurs from the four
countries of the region and beyond.
Among the conclusions
of the meeting was the commitment to further
explore opportunities for marketing, including
branding, related to the Lower Danube and
its unique natural qualities.
The Lower Danube Green
Corridor Agreement signed by the governments
of Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine
in 2000 commits the partners to realising
Europe’s largest and most ambitious wetland
protection and restoration initiative, including
protection of 1 million ha and restoration
of 240,000 hectares of wetland areas along
the last 1,000 km of the Danube.
The Lower Danube fair
and Second People’s Summit for the Lower
Danube were organised by the WWF Danube-Carpathian
Programme with generous support from the
BBI-Matra fund administered by the Dutch
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management
and Food Quality.
See related article for results of the Second
People’s Summit.
